Performance evaluation of container management tasks in OS-level virtualization platforms

Abstract

Cloud computing is a method for accessing and managing computing resources over the internet, providing flexibility, scalability, and cost-efficiency. Cloud computing relies more and more on OS-level virtualization tools such as Docker and Podman, enabling users to create and run containers, which are widely used for application management. Given its significance in cloud infrastructures, it is crucial to have a better understanding of OS-level virtualization performance, especially in tasks related to container management (ex: creation, destruction). In this paper, we conducted benchmarking tests on Docker and Podman to evaluate their performance in various container management scenarios and with different image sizes. The results revealed that Podman excels in quickly instantiating small-sized containers, while Docker demonstrates superior performance with larger-sized containers.